EcoCAR EV Challenge w/ Jesse Alley & Kayla Hamilton

AVL's Reimagine Mobility Podcast

Stephan enters the world of EcoCAR EV Challenge with Jesse Alley the Senior Program Manager and Kayla Hamilton a current PhD student at The University of Alabama. In this episode they discuss the valuable experience of the EcoCAR Challenge, the future of autonomous mobility and staying relevant with the trends of the automotive industry.
Jesse Alley is the EcoCAR EV Challenge Senior Program Manager at Argonne National Lab where he is responsible for day-to-day leadership of EV Challenge activities, establishing and managing the program’s industry sponsorship efforts and is the chair of the Faculty Advisory Board. He has worked at Argonne on Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions (AVTCs) in a variety of roles for more than a decade since graduating from Virginia Tech a Bachelors and Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering (2010 & 2012 respectively). During his time at Virginia Tech, Jesse participated in the AVTC program as a student for four years, which inspired him to pursue a career that was focused on people rather than products. This passion was (and still is) the core motivation for Jesse to continue the mission to train the next generation of automotive engineers via the AVTC program.

Kayla Hamilton is a current PhD student in electrical engineering at The University of Alabama and holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science. She has been involved in The University of Alabama’s EcoCAR team since the end of EcoCAR 3 as an undergraduate student, starting as an electrical team member and then moving to the Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) team with the start of the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge. Prior to her current team role as Engineering Manager in the EV Challenge, she spent two years as the UA team’s CAV lead combining her passion for autonomy and mentoring students interested in the automotive field. Her research interests include vehicle to everything (V2X) connectivity and automation with a focus on energy consumption optimization strategies for cooperative adaptive cruise control.
Company description

Who are we? Argonne is a multidisciplinary science and engineering research center, where talented scientists and engineers work together to answer the biggest questions facing humanity, from how to obtain affordable clean energy to protecting ourselves and our environment. STEP is one of four departments within the Transportation and Power Systems (TAPS) Division in the Advanced Energy Technologies (AET) Directorate at Argonne National Laboratory.

STEP Mission: Research, develop, demonstrate and deploy cutting edge science and technology and impactful education, workforce and equity-centered programming that helps shape sustainable transportation solutions and builds the next generation workforce to help our nation transition to e-mobility.

STEP portfolio includes:

• Advanced mobility research in connected and automated vehicles and energy efficient mobility systems
• Large public/private partnerships between government, industry and academia
• Workforce Development and STEM education
• Deployment and demonstration programs for the National Clean Cities network and other sponsors
• Equity-centered programming to expand DEI and Equity and Environmental Justice in clean energy and transportation
• Additional Links: EcoCAR website: https:/

If you would like to be a guest on the show contact: [e-mail]